Rare gene may treat muscle deterioration
Found in super-developed German boy
Genetically developed antibody tested
LINDA A. JOHNSON
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK?Somewhere in Berlin, Germany, is a baby Superman, born with bulging arm and leg muscles.
Not yet 5, he can hold 3-kilogram weights with arms extended, something many adults cannot do. He has muscles twice the size of other kids his age and half their body fat.
DNA testing showed why: the boy has a very rare genetic mutation that boosts muscle growth.
The discovery, reported today in New England Journal of Medicine, represents the first documented human case of such a mutation.
Many scientists believe the find could eventually lead to drugs for treating people with muscular dystrophy and other muscle-destroying conditions. And athletes would almost surely want to get their hands on such a drug and use it like steroids to bulk up.
The boy's mutant DNA segment was found to block production of the protein myostatin that limits muscle growth. The news comes seven years after researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore created buff "mighty mice" by "turning off" the gene that directs cells to produce myostatin.
Pharmaceutical firm Wyeth, based in Madison, N.J., has begun human tests of a genetically engineered antibody designed to neutralize myostatin, said spokeswoman Natalie de Vane.
Dr. Lou Kunkel, head of the genomics program at Boston Children's Hospital , said success is possible within several years.
Researchers said the unidentified German boy was born to a somewhat muscular mother, a 24-year-old former professional sprinter. Her brother and three other close male relatives all were unusually strong, with one of them able to unload heavy curb stones by hand.
The boy is healthy now, but doctors worry he could eventually suffer heart or other health problems.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...l=968350060724
Time to clone and have army of super strong humans
